Important victory in a murky future

Published 6:12 pm, Friday, March 15, 2013

During his term as state attorney general, current U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal was known for filing his share of lawsuits. Maybe more than his share. But his constant activity led to many demonstrable gains for Connecticut residents, and his successor, George Jepsen, has followed up on a case that ought to earn him considerable praise.

The subject was Google, the Internet giant and home page for millions of Web surfers. As part of its mapping program, it offers views of well-traveled streets, accomplished by driving camera-laden cars up and down the byways of America. Unfortunately, the cars were collecting more than images, and in fact gathered data including emails and passwords pilfered from wireless accounts along the routes. Google claimed it was all a big mistake.

That may be so, but it was also a huge breach of privacy. Last week, Jepsen announced a $7 million settlement with 38 states, led by Connecticut, that mandates new privacy protections on Google's part. It's not the kind of money likely to make a dent in the company's bottom line, but it's an important outcome nonetheless.

"Consumers have a reasonable expectation of privacy," Jepsen said. "This agreement recognizes those rights and ensures that Google will not use similar tactics in the future to collect personal information without permission from unsuspecting customers."

Jepsen, elected in 2010 shortly after Blumenthal filed the initial suit, said he never expected an issue like privacy to take up as much time as it does, but it's become a centerpiece of his term in office. The amount of data available and the ease with which it can be accessed by certain parties all but guarantees it will continue to be a serious concern.

Millions of people are taking advantage of new technology, released faster than the average customer can keep track, and few have a handle on the inherent dangers for their personal information. This is an issue that won't be solved overnight.

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Blumenthal, for his part, said he will seek a legislative remedy in the Senate.

"The real goal here is trying to set industry standards so this kind of thing doesn't happen in the future," Jepsen said, and that is a laudable goal.